Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LPG. Pareto Securities raised Dorian LPG to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Dorian LPG in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Dorian LPG Price Performance

Dorian LPG stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.20. The company had a trading volume of 778,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,621. Dorian LPG has a 12-month low of $16.66 and a 12-month high of $51.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $21.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.95. The company has a market capitalization of $950.25 million, a P/E ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 3.97 and a quick ratio of 3.95.

Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.08. Dorian LPG had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 38.51%. The business had revenue of $75.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.04 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 46.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Dorian LPG will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Dorian LPG Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 13.5%. Dorian LPG's payout ratio is presently 25.45%.

Insider Transactions at Dorian LPG

In other news, CEO John C. Hadjipateras bought 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $221,875.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,824,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,382,851.50. This trade represents a 0.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 13.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dorian LPG

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Dorian LPG during the 4th quarter worth $698,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Dorian LPG by 392.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 62,935 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 50,160 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Dorian LPG by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 180,701 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,404,000 after buying an additional 16,947 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Dorian LPG by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,127,317 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $100,583,000 after purchasing an additional 711,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dorian LPG during the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. 62.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dorian LPG Company Profile

Dorian LPG Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas through its LPG tankers worldwide. It owns and operates twenty-five very large gas carriers. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.